Keynote Speakers
Eleanor T. Loiacono is the Henry & Phyllis Shook Term Professor of Business at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, William & Mary, where she leads the Inclusive Design and Accessibility (IDEA) Hub. Her research delves into the dynamic interplay between technology and its users, focusing on enhancing user experiences through technological innovation.
For over two decades, Dr. Loiacono has explored the human-technology relationship, emphasizing how mobile applications and social media can enrich people’s lives. Recognized as a thought leader in universal design, she examines how individuals with diverse abilities engage with technology. Her scholarship extends to diversity in the IT workforce, particularly the experiences of women in IT.
As the Principal Investigator for the $1 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant, “ImPACT: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Information Technology” (https://impactit.pages.wm.edu), she spearheaded efforts to foster inclusivity in the tech sector. Her work has been widely published in leading information journals, such as the Journal of the Association of Information Systems (JAIS), Information Systems Journal (ISJ), Management Information Systems Quarterly Executive (MISQE), Information Technology & People (IT&P), and Communications of the Association of Information Systems (CAIS).
Neurodiversity in the digital Workforce & design
Abstract: Globally, a growing proportion of the population identifies as neurodiverse, including individuals with autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities. These individuals offer unique skills and perspectives that can be transformative for high-tech industries where success thrives on innovative, “out-of-the-box” thinking. My presentation will delve into research that advances our understanding of neurodiversity in both the workforce and digital design. One study highlights how neurodiverse individuals contribute critical talents to high-tech industries, drawing on case studies from leading U.S. and European firms to showcase strategies for effectively integrating this talent into innovation-driven workplaces. Another proposed study explores the systemic challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities and attention issues (LDAI) in STEM fields, underscoring the need to address barriers in professional and educational settings. This work examines how workplace dynamics influence career outcomes and proposes actionable business-led solutions to support retention and success. Complementing these findings, a third study identifies gaps in accessibility knowledge among student developers, emphasizing the role of education in fostering empathy and equipping future technologists to better meet the needs of neurodiverse users. Together, these studies advocate for changes to harness the potential of neurodiverse individuals across professional and digital domains.
Robert Winter, University of St.Gallen (HSG), Switzerland is a full professor of business & information systems engineering and director of HSG’s Institute of Information Management. He is also founding director of HSG’s Executive MBA program in Business Engineering and has served for many years as president of the School of Management’s Doctoral Program. Having been vice editor-in-chief of the Business & Information Systems Engineering journal and senior editor at the European Journal of Information Systems, he currently serves on the editorial board of MIS Quarterly Executive. His main research interests are design science research methodology and enterprise-level IS management topics such as architectural coordination, governance of digital platforms, or governance of enterprise transformation. One of his publications received the AIS Senior Scholars’ Global Best Paper award for 2017.
Dealing with Complexity in Design Science Research – How Echelons Can Help Researchers to Organize the Process, Collaborate with Practitioners, Validate Continuously and Handle Intermediate IS Artefacts
Abstract: Design science research (DSR) aims to generate knowledge about innovative solutions to real-world problems. Consequently, DSR needs to deal with the complexity related to problem and solution spaces involving sociotechnical phenomena that people perceive differently and are subject to constant change. This complexity challenges the sequential, process-based character of existing DSR methodology. In a recent MISQ article, we proposed a DSR methodology extension to address complexity by adding a complementary organizing logic. Based on the theory of hierarchical, multilevel systems, we suggest organizing DSR based on the concept of “echelons” and suggest a set of five generic design echelons that imply a hierarchical organizing logic for DSR projects.
Based on a short motivation and introduction to the approach, we demonstrate echeloned DSR by illustrating how sub-units of a complex DSR project are formed, thereby creating additional organizing logic that extends traditional notions of iterations and process phases. Particularly, we illustrate which types of self-contained, intermediate IS artefacts should be differentiated and how they improve collaboration with practitioners and continuous validation of the design.
Echeloned DSR promises not only to improve the steering and validation of complex DSR projects, but also widens the focus of designing from a process-centric perspective by a chain of intermediate IS artefacts. We present some collaboration and productivity options for the DSR community as a whole that result from this broader view. With IS artefacts stepping out of the shadow of the process-only view on designing, further DSR methodology extensions deal with extending IS artefact typology, improving understanding how to abstract and contextualize IS artefacts, and identifying problem-solution patterns in DSR.